Sadie Jay

   In my head, I always give the different plot-points a title, just so I can keep it all straight. I plot very loosely because my stories are always so organic. No matter what idea I start with, once I start typing, things can easily change. So, while plotting Cracks, I had "Introduction", "First night" and then "Stay". I'm almost to "Stay". I started working on this seriously in the middle of August, so it's been two months. I wish I was a faster writer, I wish I had more time. Too often it's a half-hour in the morning, another half-hour in the evening. There are days I can measure by paragraphs, not pages. That being said, I'm over 33,000 words now. And that's the thing. My goal was 60,000 words, and I'm past the half way point, so it should be a reason to celebrate. Except, it seems to me that the first two sections have run over-long. This point is still early in James and Val's story. I'm going to push on and...

       Okay, it's still a working title. So, anyway, I've passed the 21000 word mark. Part of me feels it's moving too slowly, that the story should be further along at this point, but maybe it's not. I wish I was one of those writers that can go stream-of-conscious through the first draft and then edit. But I can't. I self-edit as I go. Each sentence is like Dumbledore pulling memories out of his head to put into the pensive. They're all fragile and have to be pulled out gently. I kind of want to print out what I have and read it all in one sitting, see if it feels cohesive before I move on to the next part, but then I think of all the paper and ink I'll have to use. Well, maybe another round of edits, then a quick print, and see where I end up.         I'm starting to get more comfortable with the first-person perspective, although I've got the feeling the biggest part of editing is going to involve cutting down on the use of "I". How do...